The following article was published by Future Travel Experience
Heathrow Airport’s Ben Wagenaar, Innovation Architect, shares what technologies are currently on his agenda in the short and long-term. As UK’s biggest front door and only hub airport,…
The following article was published by Future Travel Experience
Heathrow Airport’s Ben Wagenaar, Innovation Architect, shares what technologies are currently on his agenda in the short and long-term.
As UK’s biggest front door and only hub airport, Heathrow continues to adopt an extensive array of technologies to protect passengers and staff from the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the uncertainties brought by the pandemic, innovation remains at the heart of the airport’s operation and its ticket to recovery. FTE speaks to Ben Wagenaar, Innovation Architect, Heathrow Airport, to find out more about the technologies currently on his agenda in the short and long-term.
As part of the Innovation and Automation team within Heathrow, Wagenaar focuses largely on researching new and emerging technologies to help solve business challenges around the airport. “Airports put safety and security top of their list and everything they do and they’re very risk-averse organisations. For me, the bedrock of innovation is the trial. So, the innovation function is about trialling all this new technology and giving evidence that it’s going to work,” he explains.
Heathrow’s innovation approach is based upon the ‘Fail Fast’ philosophy, widely adopted by Silicon Valley startups, that values extensive testing to determine whether an idea has value. This approach can be especially beneficial during such times of uncertainty. Wagenaar explains: “In the past, we have had trials that either didn’t work out or our stakeholders would withdrawal their support, so we will just stop the trial. But we will bank our learning and move on.”
He adds: “For us, it’s a creative leap forward in a process, product or service. On the low end of the scale you have continuous improvement, which is the process of driving Lean Six Sigma and we have people who have been trained in this and they have improved our security flow, for instance, and various other things. At the other end of the scale, you have capital programmes where you bake the innovation in from the start. An example of this is our driverless pods between T5’s car park and the terminal, which have been very successful with our customers. So, the general innovation is focused on creatively trying to improve the processes as much as we can, but we need technology to take a creative leap.”
For Heathrow’s innovation team looking into parallel industries is a big part of the decision-making process when researching new and emerging technologies. “When we have a business challenge, we go through a process of solutionising. We do our research and start to think how we could solve this, and we also look at other industries.”
One instance, Wagenaar shared, is a trial the airport undertook back in 2017, exploring ways to ensure there would always be a baggage trolley available when a passenger needed one. “Other airports have solved this by using CCTV cameras, but we thought we could do this even better. So, we looked at the warehousing and the logistics industry and we worked with a partner to test RFID (radio-frequency identification), which has been used in warehouses for 20 years and it worked very well.”
In the past few months the airport has kicked off a number of pioneering technologies, including UV cleaning robots which use ultraviolet rays to quickly and efficiently kill viruses and bacteria at night; UV handrail technology has been fitted to escalators to ensure continuous disinfection of the moving handrails; and self-cleaning anti-viral wraps have been fitted to security trays, lift buttons, trolley and door handles, aiming to provide long-lasting protection from COVID-19.
Wagenaar and his team are also currently reviewing technologies which could remove the need for passengers to touch self-service check in machines, allowing them to control the kiosks from their phones. He explains: “We are trialling solutions around the touchless journey. We think that as passengers return, they will be a lot more conscious about the things they touch and come into contact with. So, one of the things we’re looking at is the kiosks. We have done two things on that – we developed a UVC cleaner, which is like an arm that moves across the kiosk and cleans the screen. And another one I have been involved with is a screen mirroring solution. Here, you use your phone to scan a QR code on the kiosk, and that launches a mini website on the passenger’s mobile device, so that they can operate the kiosk through their phone. Passengers can complete the whole check-in and bag drop process without touching the screen. We have surveyed passengers and they thought it was a good functional solution.”
One of the main challenges for airports once passenger traffic bounces back would be to ensure that social distancing measures remain in place. Heathrow, for one, recognises that there are parts of the passenger journey where social distancing may not always be possible, and the airport has put in place a number of measures, such as COVID-19 marshals to help enforce social distancing as well as the use of Perspex screens and mandatory mask use.
Moreover, Wagenaar also highlights that crowd management is a major focus for the innovation team. “We have worked with some of the crowd management solutions, such as Xovis and CrowdVision and we did a pilot with one of them to look at social distancing. More specifically, it was to get a statistic on areas with high density. So, we can use the system to alert us when it thinks we will have big queues so that we can intervene and help people stay apart.”
Looking at the bigger picture, a true recovery from COVID-19 won’t just be about putting things back together the way they previously were, but Wagenaar says that a big part of the industry restart would be around the trend of ‘building back better’.
“Longer term I think the focus would be on sustainability, automation and also scaling up. Particularly if you look on social media, there is a great debate now that people want to restart in a build back better kind of way and that is relevant to airports as well.”
He continues: “This also ties in with automation and scaling up. During the pandemic, we scaled down to save money, we closed T3 and T4, and in the long term as demand comes back, airports would want to scale up their services and get everything restarted, but they wouldn’t want to go back to the old days of high costs. For instance, if you’re running a new passenger service, you wouldn’t want to keep resourcing it with people, but airports will look more and more into automating these processes. And automation sits with sustainability and scaling up, because it’s about saving money. We’re quite lucky that Heathrow, for instance, moved to an all-electric vehicle fleet, as it’s the right thing to do for the environment, but it actually saves us money.”
The topic of automation raises some questions around protecting human resources, while also ensuring that airports can still provide a human touch, but Wagenaar explains that automation in itself has the potential to create new jobs and provides an opportunity to upskill staff and expand their capabilities.
“If you look back through history this has been shown many times, as we develop more technologies to make our life easier, that in itself creates new jobs,” he says. “There’s lots of examples in robotics where we have automated tasks, we have evidence that it actually created more jobs and replaced some of the manual handling. And secondly, airside areas in airports in particular, such as baggage sites, could be really dangerous places. So, one of the things we discussed a few years ago around our innovation strategy was around safety. And that’s where driverless vehicle technology, for example, is great because it takes people out of dangerous situations.”
Looking ahead, there’s still so much uncertainty about when passenger traffic will bounce back, but from our conversation with Wagenaar it becomes evident that Heathrow’s innovation team is well equipped to help solve the upcoming challenges by trialling solutions that have the potential to open up the aviation sector in a quick, safe and sustainable manner.
Automation will be a leading topic during the upcoming FTE shows this year. At Virtual Expo 2021 (25-26 May), we will be hosting a session on “Advancing Automation & Self-Service Strategies at airports post-COVID-19”, while FTE Global will feature a dedicated Airline & Airport Automation Summit. Sign up for the FTE newsletter for more details.
Article originally published here:
How Heathrow uses innovation and automation as a creative leap to a more sustainable future
Here’s what could happen to Apple shares next.
They said it was bound to happen.
It was Jan. 11, 2024 when software giant Microsoft (MSFT) briefly passed Apple (AAPL) as the most valuable company in the world.
Microsoft's stock closed 0.5% higher, giving it a market valuation of $2.859 trillion.
It rose as much as 2% during the session and the company was briefly worth $2.903 trillion. Apple closed 0.3% lower, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.886 trillion.
"It was inevitable that Microsoft would overtake Apple since Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said at the time, according to Reuters.
The two tech titans have jostled for top spot over the years and Microsoft was ahead at last check, with a market cap of $3.085 trillion, compared with Apple's value of $2.684 trillion.
Analysts noted that Apple had been dealing with weakening demand, including for the iPhone, the company’s main source of revenue.
Demand in China, a major market, has slumped as the country's economy makes a slow recovery from the pandemic and competition from Huawei.
Sales in China of Apple's iPhone fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared with a year earlier, according to research firm Counterpoint, as the company contended with stiff competition from a resurgent Huawei "while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi," said senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang.
“Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now," he said.
Counterpoint said that the first six weeks of 2023 saw abnormally high numbers with significant unit sales being deferred from December 2022 due to production issues.
Apple is planning to open its eighth store in Shanghai – and its 47th across China – on March 21.
Related: Tech News Now: OpenAI says Musk contract 'never existed', Xiaomi's EV, and more
The company also plans to expand its research centre in Shanghai to support all of its product lines and open a new lab in southern tech hub Shenzhen later this year, according to the South China Morning Post.
Meanwhile, over in Europe, Apple announced changes to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last week, Reuters reported on March 12.
Beginning this spring, software developers operating in Europe will be able to distribute apps to EU customers directly from their own websites instead of through the App Store.
"To reflect the DMA’s changes, users in the EU can install apps from alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4 and later," Apple said on its website, referring to the software platform that runs iPhones and iPads.
"Users will be able to download an alternative marketplace app from the marketplace developer’s website," the company said.
Apple has also said it will appeal a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for thwarting competition from Spotify (SPOT) and other music streaming rivals via restrictions on the App Store.
The company's shares have suffered amid all this upheaval, but some analysts still see good things in Apple's future.
Bank of America Securities confirmed its positive stance on Apple, maintaining a buy rating with a steady price target of $225, according to Investing.com.
The firm's analysis highlighted Apple's pricing strategy evolution since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, with initial prices set at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.
BofA said that Apple has consistently launched new iPhone models, including the Pro/Pro Max versions, to target the premium market.
Concurrently, prices for previous models are typically reduced by about $100 with each new release.
This strategy, coupled with installment plans from Apple and carriers, has contributed to the iPhone's installed base reaching a record 1.2 billion in 2023, the firm said.
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Apple has effectively shifted its sales mix toward higher-value units despite experiencing slower unit sales, BofA said.
This trend is expected to persist and could help mitigate potential unit sales weaknesses, particularly in China.
BofA also noted Apple's dominance in the high-end market, maintaining a market share of over 90% in the $1,000 and above price band for the past three years.
The firm also cited the anticipation of a multi-year iPhone cycle propelled by next-generation AI technology, robust services growth, and the potential for margin expansion.
On Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said they believed that the sell-off in the iPhone maker’s shares may be “overdone.”
The firm said that investors' growing preference for AI-focused stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) has led to a reallocation of funds away from Apple.
In addition, Evercore said concerns over weakening demand in China, where Apple may be losing market share in the smartphone segment, have affected investor sentiment.
And then ongoing regulatory issues continue to have an impact on investor confidence in the world's second-biggest company.
“We think the sell-off is rather overdone, while we suspect there is strong valuation support at current levels to down 10%, there are three distinct drivers that could unlock upside on the stock from here – a) Cap allocation, b) AI inferencing, and c) Risk-off/defensive shift," the firm said in a research note.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
stocks pandemic recovery european europe eu chinaThere is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high…
There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Credit: IVI
There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
The findings from this 4-year study, the Severe Typhoid in Africa (SETA) program, offers new typhoid fever burden estimates from six countries: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria, with four countries recording more than 100 cases for every 100,000 person-years of observation, which is considered a high burden. The highest incidence of typhoid was found in DRC with 315 cases per 100,000 people while children between 2-14 years of age were shown to be at highest risk across all 25 study sites.
There are an estimated 12.5 to 16.3 million cases of typhoid every year with 140,000 deaths. However, with generic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain, and the need for blood culture sampling to make a definitive diagnosis, it is difficult for governments to capture the true burden of typhoid in their countries.
“Our goal through SETA was to address these gaps in typhoid disease burden data,” said lead author Dr. Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). “Our estimates indicate that introduction of TCV in endemic settings would go to lengths in protecting communities, especially school-aged children, against this potentially deadly—but preventable—disease.”
In addition to disease incidence, this study also showed that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella Typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, has led to more reliance beyond the traditional first line of antibiotic treatment. If left untreated, severe cases of the disease can lead to intestinal perforation and even death. This suggests that prevention through vaccination may play a critical role in not only protecting against typhoid fever but reducing the spread of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria.
There are two TCVs prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and available through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In February 2024, IVI and SK bioscience announced that a third TCV, SKYTyphoid™, also achieved WHO PQ, paving the way for public procurement and increasing the global supply.
Alongside the SETA disease burden study, IVI has been working with colleagues in three African countries to show the real-world impact of TCV vaccination. These studies include a cluster-randomized trial in Agogo, Ghana and two effectiveness studies following mass vaccination in Kisantu, DRC and Imerintsiatosika, Madagascar.
Dr. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Associate Director General at IVI and Head of the Real-World Evidence Department, explains, “Through these vaccine effectiveness studies, we aim to show the full public health value of TCV in settings that are directly impacted by a high burden of typhoid fever.” He adds, “Our final objective of course is to eliminate typhoid or to at least reduce the burden to low incidence levels, and that’s what we are attempting in Fiji with an island-wide vaccination campaign.”
As more countries in typhoid endemic countries, namely in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, consider TCV in national immunization programs, these data will help inform evidence-based policy decisions around typhoid prevention and control.
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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.
IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is recently pre-qualified by WHO.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, a Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.
CONTACT
Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int
The Lancet Global Health
Observational study
People
Incidence of typhoid fever in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria (the Severe Typhoid in Africa programme): a population-based study
12-Mar-2024
US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes
Earlier today, CNBC’s…
Earlier today, CNBC's Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:
We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.
Maybe it will never matter. Maybe MMT is real. Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.
I have no idea. Only time will tell. But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.
He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River's Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming "US debt sustainability crisis."
According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.
The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)...
... and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.
The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.
And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.
But wait there's more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won't be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming... and it's also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).
And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day
... having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.
We conclude with another observation by CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist...
.. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:
The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.
Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.
That's why you will hear the "deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion" over the decade.
No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.
Of course, in the long run, neither can the US... and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.
All Of The Elements Are In Place For An Economic Crisis Of Staggering Proportions
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